


again and again (until we get this right)

by iamirondad



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Endgame, Protective Tony Stark, Temporary Character Death, Time Loop, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21750598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamirondad/pseuds/iamirondad
Summary: Tony and Peter are unknowingly trapped inside a time-loop and it always ends in the same way. They both die. They have all the time in the world to figure it out, but if they can't remember, Tony will be doomed to watch Peter die, again and again, and again, forever.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 204





	again and again (until we get this right)

**Author's Note:**

> Some of you might have read this before! Don't worry you don't have a bad case of déjà vu, you have. I uploaded this during whumptober in a multichapter fic, but I think it deserves its own space! 
> 
> Inspired by an episode of the X-Files. Monday, Season Six, Episode Fourteen.
> 
> WARNING: Temporary Character Death, Descriptions of a Shooting

Tony cradled Peter in his arms, he brushed his fingers across his cold cheek and muttered soft promises as he slowly rocked back and forth. He knew he was already gone but he couldn’t let his heart go there. Peter was different. They could save him. Bring him back. They had too. He couldn’t die like this.   
  
They’d only gone into the bank to deposit May’s paycheque that wasn’t a _hard_ job.   
  
It’s a normal day-to-day task. A trip to the bank.   
  
You wait in line, do what you came for, and leave. It’s boring. It’s a part of life.   
  
Tony couldn’t remember how they got here. He was dazed. The world around him didn’t make any sense.  
  
The shooter’s name was Jack. He had a gun and a bomb. What he wanted was self-explanatory but it hadn’t gone according to plan. He wanted to get the money and get out before the cops arrived. Peter got in his way and paid the price for that act of heroism. Tony wasn’t quick enough. He didn’t save him.  
  
“We’re gonna be alright, kid....” He muttered as he combed a hand through Peter’s curls, “You and I. We’re gonna be okay.” He leaned down, and pressed a kiss against his forehead, “You’ll see.”  
  
“Stop talking.” Jack threatened, pointing his gun towards Tony.  
  
“My kid is bleeding out, Jack!” Tony bellowed, “You can’t tell me what to do.”  
  
“Yes, I can…” Jack hissed, “I’m in charge.”  
  
“You’re in charge…” Tony nodded, “So, what are you gonna do now?”  
  
“Walk out of here.” He shrugged, “They won’t shoot me.” He gestured to the bomb strapped around his front, “Not with this.”   
  
“They don’t know you have the bomb.” Tony told him, “They can’t see you! So, they don’t know.”  
  
“They _do_.” Jack said, through gritted teeth, “They do know.”  
  
The front door crashed open, and a team of police stormed in, guns blazing, “No!” Tony screamed, he pulled Peter closer to his chest, as Jack flipped the switch and they were enveloped in a flash of white.

* * *

Tony burst awake, he leaned forward as he let out an exasperated sigh, he locked his hand in his hair. He was sitting in the backseat of his car. _Shit_ , he couldn’t remember the last time he fell asleep like that, because he never did. When he slept, if he did at all, it was either in bed with Pepper or on the couch with his kids.   
  
If he was falling asleep in the car, then he was really overdoing it.   
  
He felt someone prodding him in the arm. He looked up; Peter was the culprit. The kid was staring at him, with wide-eyes, and a mischievous grin, “You having fun?” Tony asked, raising one eyebrow.   
  
Peter snorted as he stopped poking him, “You’re _so_ old.”   
  
“What did you just say?”  
  
Peter’s smile grew wider, “So, you’re nodding off in the car and you’re going deaf too?”  
  
“Kid, you’re not too old to be grounded, you know?” Tony leaned forward, tapping the back of Happy’s chair, “Pull over here, please Hap. We can walk.”  
  
“Sure thing, boss.”  
  
Happy pulled the car up on the curb, Peter jumped out first, “Thanks, Happy!”  
  
“No problem, kid.”  
  
Tony playfully nudged Happy’s arm with his fist, “You’re the _best_ , Hap.” He climbed out and closed the door. Happy sped off like there was _no tomorrow_.  
  
Tony turned, wrapping an arm around Peter’s shoulders, as they headed down the street, “Why’s he not coming with us?”   
  
“He’s got a date…” Tony bounced his eyebrows up, “With May, remember?”  
  
“Uh, uh.” Peter squirmed away and plugged his ears with his fingers, “Shut up, _shut up_ , shut up! That’s so wrong.”  
  
“Wrong?” Tony scoffed, “You already call him _Uncle_ Happy.”  
  
“Because Morgan does!” Peter exclaimed, holding out his arms to amplify his point, “It’s not an excuse to date my aunt…” He stuck out his tongue, “Eh, gross.”  
  
“They’re happy together.”  
  
A look of betrayal etched over Peter’s face, “Why would you say that?”  
  
“Okay, I’ll stop.” Tony buried his hand in his back pocket and pulled out one of his cards, he slapped it into Peter’s palm, “Here. You pick up lunch, I’m gonna grab a paper.”  
  
“Wow.” Peter backed away, “You’re so old.”  
  
Tony narrowed his eyes, “Watch it.” Peter skipped away, chuckling as he went.  
  
Tony started to walk over toward the newspaper stand but was stopped when a firm hand wrapped around his wrist, stealing his attention, “Stark.” An unknown man muttered quietly. Tony snatched his wrist back. The man looked like he was sleeping rough, and Tony felt guilty for pulling his hand away when the poor guy probably only wanted a few dollars. However, for Tony, being defensive, was an occupational hazard.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“You know me..” The guy stuttered, “Well, you should. Um, _uh,_ I’m David.” He looked over his shoulder, like he was afraid of something, “You need to go home.”  
  
Tony stifled a laugh, “Pardon?”  
  
“Go home, now.” David pleaded, “Don’t go to the bank. Grab your _son_ , and come back tomorrow instead.”  
  
Tony’s heart leapt up into his throat, “How…” The public knew about Peter, but only in a professional capacity. The world thought he was simply Tony’s intern. Tony had only recently entered a co-adoption with May, but that wasn’t being made public for another week, “How do you know about Peter?”  
  
“You adopted him.”  
  
“Yes, but that’s not public yet.” Tony hissed, “So, I’ll ask again, how do you know that?”  
  
“Just trust me.” David didn’t falter, he stood strong in his plea, “Don’t go to the bank.” He hurried away, leaving Tony with more questions than answers.  
  
Peter walked over, holding onto a singular hot dog, he’d already scoffed his own, “Who was that?”  
  
“No idea.” Tony said, Peter held out the hot dog, “You eat it, I’m not that hungry.”  
  
“Uh...okay.” Peter turned, “Come on, I’ve gotta deposit May’s cheque before she kills me.” 

Tony walked beside him, “Let’s use an ATM.” He didn’t believe David’s warning but he wanted to be cautious, “The banks gonna be rammed.” Peter tried to answer but his mouth was full, he’d demolished the hot dog like he hadn’t eaten in years. This morning, he had two stacks of pancakes that Pepper made. The kid’s metabolism was truly insane, “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”  
  
They turned the corner towards the ATM, Peter pulled the cheque out of his backpack and leaned over, pressing the side of his machine, “Eh. Out of service.” He groaned, “I thought tech would be better in 2024. Guess not.”  
  
Tony looked over his shoulder, he knew there was another machine close by, “We can see if the one around-- “ When he turned back, Peter was gone, “Kid?”  
  
“I’ll be quick!” Peter called back, he was heading up the steps, into the _bank_.   
  
Tony felt dread swallow him whole as he charged after him. “Peter!” He shouted, urgently, but with his voice low.   
  
Peter was waiting at the back of a queue, Tony stopped beside him, “Why are you being so weird?” Peter asked, tilting his head to his shoulder.  
  
“Weird?” Tony’s voice involuntary went high-pitched, “I’m not being weird.”  
  
“Yes, you are.”  
  
Tony cleared his throat, “I’m not.”  
  
“So just old, then.”  
  
Tony rolled his eyes, “No.”  
  
Peter squinted, “...Senile?”  
  
“Kid…” Tony was about to mock him in retaliation but Peter’s smile dropped, the colour drained from his cheeks, and he frantically started looking around the room, “Hey, Peter, what’s wrong?” Peter looked at him, his eyes widened in alarm, “Are you okay?”   
  
“Customers, face down!” A man bellowed from beside them. He was holding a gun up, waving it around, with an inexperienced trembling hand. Some of the customers screamed, while others muttered under their breath. They all complied, getting down onto the floor, “You know what this is!” He was wearing a dark green parker, it was zipped up to the top. It was _June_ , so it didn’t take Tony long to work out what he had hidden under there.   
  
Tony pushed Peter’s shoulder, “Get down, kid.” Peter listened, for once, he got down on his front, leaning his head to the side to watch on. Making sure he was ready to _jump_ in if it came to it.  
  
Tony stayed on his feet, he crushed his panic button on his watch. Alarmingly, it didn’t work. It _failed._ That was impossible unless this shooter was ridiculously clever and had a way to jam the network.  
  
“Shit.” Tony dropped to his knees and lay down beside Peter.   
  
Peter tapped his fingers on the floor in morse code. _S-P-I-D-E-R-M-A-N_. Tony shook his head in response, Peter nodded.   
  
“Money, in the bags now!” The guy screamed, “No alarms!”   
  
Tony flinched as the robber’s footsteps got closer to them. From now on, Tony would always have his nanotech suit prepared. Ever since, he retired, he never brought it out. In light of celebration, he forgot that the world was still such a dark place.   
  
“Stark.” The man roared cheerfully, he reached down, grabbing hold of Tony’s shoulder in an unforgiving grip, he pulled him to his feet. He reached over, pressing his fingers into Tony’s cheeks, holding his face in his hand, “I’ve hit the jack box today, haven’t I?”  
  
“Have you?” Tony mumbled. The man released his cheeks, and Tony extended his jaw to numb the sting.  
  
“You’re retired.” The man brushed down Tony’s jacket, “No suit with you, and I’ve jammed the signals.”  
  
“Yes.” Tony raised his eyebrow, “Well done, not many people can jam my tech. I’d say almost no one. Who helped you with that?”  
  
“Like I’d tell you.”  
  
Tony turned his eyes to the side, Peter hadn’t moved yet, but he knew as soon as the man made the wrong move, the teen would be up on his feet in no time, “Okay, buddy. I’ll give you whatever you want, if you let everyone go first.” The man bent down and grabbed Peter’s arm, dragging him up onto his feet, “What are you doing?  
  
“He with you?” He barked. Tony knew there were two ways to play this. The man wanted to use Peter as leverage, as a bargaining chip to get what he wanted. Tears filled Tony’s eyes, as he shook his head. The guy sneered, “Liar.” He locked an arm around Peter’s chest, and pressed the barrel of his gun against Peter’s temple, Tony’s stomach flipped, and he had to bite down on his lip, “You’re gonna listen to me, or the kid gets it, you hear me?”  
  
“Okay, okay...” Tony held up his hands in surrender, “I’m listening.” 

Tony didn’t like how calm Peter was. He was almost emotionless. It hurt to admit that seeing his kid, straight-faced, unafraid of a literal gun held against his head, was worse than the day he’d disappeared, begging to be saved. This was either a bravado, or Peter wasn’t scared to die anymore.   
  
Peter grabbed the man’s wrist and with an effortless swing, threw him over his shoulder, down onto the ground. Tony let out a loud squeak; when Peter wasn’t in the suit, he often forgot how strong he was. “Come on, kid.” He beckoned, holding out his hand.   
  
Peter leapt over the man, who was gagging as he forced air back into his shocked lungs. Peter looked dazed like he hadn’t expected that he could do that. It was Peter’s hazed mind, that stopped him from seeing what happened next.  
  
The man grabbed his ankle, and Peter stumbled. Tony leapt forward, reaching out, ready to ball his hand around Peter’s backpack to pull him to safety.   
  
It was too late. The man pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit Peter’s chest, at close range.  
  
“Peter!” Tony slid over on his knees, catching Peter in his arms, as he crumbled to the ground. “Hey, hey...” He cried out frantically, as he brushed his fingers against Peter’s cheek. Peter didn’t speak or even mummer. His eyes were half-open, and he kept blinking, _slowly_. He wasn’t with it, he was lifelessly staring down, as he desperately gasped for air, “Kid?” Tony pressed his hand against the wound, his throat cracked as blood covered his palm, “Kid, look at me, please _..._ ”   
  
The man got back onto his feet, cocking his gun, holding it in Tony’s direction.   
  
Tony wanted to kill him but knew he had a duty. An oath Peter had taught him when they first met. _When you can do the things that I can, but you don't...and then the bad things happen...they happen because of you._ Tony had two jobs, keep Peter alive, and save everyone else in that room. He wasn’t going to do that with violence.  
  
Tony looked up, “So, what’s your name?” He asked as he stroked his fingers through Peter’s hair, “I’ve gotta call you something.”  
  
“Jack.”  
  
“Okay, Jack.” Tony spoke gently as if he was talking to a rebellious child, “He’s still alive but I’ve gotta get him out of here. You don’t wanna be a killer, do you? You just need cash.”  
  
Jack gritted his teeth, “You know nothing about needing cash.”  
  
“Perhaps _not_. But I can help you, if let me save my kid, please.” He pleaded, blinking tears away as he rocked forward. Jack said nothing. “Did you blip, Jack?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“And life is different now, isn’t it?” He asked, “Everything feels wrong. Out of place.”  
  
Jack stepped forward, shaking his gun, “You don’t know what it’s like!”  
  
“This is Peter.” Tony said hastily, as he pressed his fingers against Peter’s neck, “He’s my kid. He blipped, and I...I only just got him back. I don’t wanna lose him again.” He choked on a sob, “Have you got someone you love? Someone you can’t lose.”  
  
“My best friend.”  
  
“Best friend, hey? I’ve got two of those, James Rhodes and Happy Hogan.” He smiled falsely, to give Jack a sense of security, “They’re _great._ I bet your friend is great too. Would he be happy…” He trailed off, “..If he knew you were doing this?”  
  
“I’m doing this for him.” Jack spat, “He needs…”  
  
“Help. I can help him.” Tony promised, “If you let everyone go.”  
  
“No!” Jack unzipped his parker, revealing the bomb strapped around his front, “No one _leaves!_  
  
“Okay, okay.” Tony strained as he went back to threading his fingers through Peter’s hair. “Peter’s only seventeen, and he’s got a best friend too, Ned, who loves him very much.” He explained, “You understand that, don’t you, Jack? How much you love your best friend?”  
  
Jack jumped around, throwing a tantrum. Tony had obviously hit a nerve, “Shut up!”  
  
“Tony…” Peter choked out.  
  
An invisible weight hit Tony’s chest, stealing his breath, as he looked down at his kid, “Hey, baby. You’re alright.” A gut-wrenching gargle escaped passed Peter’s lips as Tony bounced him, back and forth, “Pete?” Peter’s eyes rolled back, and he grew limp in Tony’s grip, “Kid?”   
  
At first, Peter’s breathing was unrhythmic and violent _,_ then his breaths grew longer, but further between. The violence quickly slipped away, replaced by two peaceful breaths, and then, there was only silence.  
  
“Peter?” Tony whimpered, he cupped his cheek, “Please don’t do this to me, bud.” He brushed his fingers through Peter’s curls, “We’re gonna be alright, kid...You and I. We’re gonna be okay.” He pressed a kiss against his forehead, “You’ll see.”  
  
“Stop talking.” Jack spat.  
  
“My kid is bleeding out, Jack! Don’t you fucking tell me what to do.”   
  
“I’m in charge!”  
  
“You’re in charge…” Tony shouted, “So, what are you gonna do now then?”  
  
“Walk out of here. They won’t shoot me.”   
  
“They don’t know you have the bomb! And you’ve jammed the signals, so they can’t call! They don’t know what your plan is!”  
  
“They _do_. They do know.”  
  
The front door crashed open, and a team of police stormed in, guns blazing. Jack flipped the switch, and Tony welcomed the darkness that followed. 

* * *

Tony shot awake, gasping for air. He was in the car on the way into town, with Happy and Peter. _Yeah,_ he was seriously overdoing it lately.  
  
“Are you okay?” Peter queried, nudging Tony’s shoulder, with concern reflected in his eyes.   
  
“Yeah…” Tony nodded, “I’m fine.”  
  
Peter snorted a laugh, “You’re so….” His face crumpled, and he dotted his eyes to the floor.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Sorry…” Peter chuckled, “...That was weird.”  
  
“What was?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Peter shrugged, “Just a sense of Déjà vu.”  
  
“I get you, kid.” Happy commented, “Every time I drive you two around it’s a sense of Déjà vu.”  
  
“Very funny, Hap.” Tony said, monotone, “Pull over here, please. We can walk.”  
  
“Sure thing.” Happy pulled up onto the curb.  
  
“Thanks, Happy!” Peter leapt out of the car, Tony followed swiftly behind. Peter let out a gentle coo and skipped over to a dog that had been left tied to a lamppost outside a newsagent, “Aw, _hello._ What’s your name?” He asked as he knelt, the dog jumped up, greeting Peter excitedly.   
  
“Stark.” A man muttered as he tapped Tony’s shoulder.  
  
“Do I know you?” The question sounded foreign in Tony’s mouth because he did know him, he just didn’t know _why._   
  
“No.” The man sighed, “Whatever you do, don’t let your son go into the bank today.”  
  
He hurried away, as quickly as he appeared, “What?” How did he know that Peter was his son? That wasn’t public knowledge yet, “Hey!”  
  
“Who was that?” Peter asked, reappearing at his side.  
  
“I don’t know.” Tony turned, and unzipped Peter’s backpack, taking out May’s cheque.  
  
“What are you doing?” Peter asked as Tony zipped the bag back up.   
  
“You go and get lunch.” Tony handed over his card, “I’ll deposit this and meet you outside.”  
  
Peter bounced back on his heel, “Cool beans.”   
  
“Cool, what now?” Tony asked as Peter skipped away, “Huh, teenagers.”  
  
Tony cautiously walked up the stairs into the bank. He didn’t know why he was on _edge_ but something was happening, something he couldn’t _explain_. Peter was right, it felt like Déjà vu. Tony joined the back of the queue and his mind turned to the man outside. _How did he know Peter was his son? And why didn’t he want Peter to go into the bank? Why did Tony recognize him?_ Nothing was making any sense.  
  
“Everyone on the floor now!” A man ordered from behind. He had a gun, he was inexperiencedly waving it around. He had a bomb too, Tony could tell by the parker he was wearing.“You know what this is!” Tony wasn’t shocked, not as much as he should be. He knew this was going to happen, _how did he know that?_  
  
“Shit.” Tony cursed under his breath when he realised his panic button didn’t work.  
  
“Stark?” The man sneered, he strode over, keeping the gun held up. “If I knew you were here, I wouldn’t have done this.” He gestured to the room, civilians were down on the ground, while the bankers were stood, waiting to be ordered around.  
  
“You’ve got me.” Tony told him, “Why don’t you and I get out of here? I can give you everything you want if you let all these people go.”  
  
“No.”

“I’m offering you...anything you want,” Tony said. The man didn’t react, “What’s your name?”

“Jack.”  
  
“Okay, Jack. What do you want?”  
  
Jack raised his eyebrows, and grinned, “I think you know.”  
  
“Money? Of course.” Tony clapped his hands together, “Let everyone go, and we can talk.”  
  
Jack stepped back, “What is that?” He gestured to Tony’s prosthetic arm with his gun.  
  
“This.” Tony pulled the sleeve down. Jack recoiled. Tony knew why, the arm was painted the same colour as the Iron Man armour, it would look pretty intimidating to a criminal.   
  
“Take it off!” Jack barked.  
  
“I can’t. It’s not part of a suit. It’s a prosthetic arm.” Tony explained, “I lost it in the final battle. Do you know that? And my kid’s designed it, that’s why it looks like this. It’s harmless.”

“Take--”  
  
The door swung open, and Peter walked in, holding a paper bag with their lunch in. He had his earplugs in, he used them to drown out sounds when he was experiencing sensory overload. It meant that his fight or flight reflect was dampened, he hadn’t sensed the danger when he entered.  
  
Tony leapt forward in an attempt to disarm Jack, but he was too late.

Jack pulled the trigger.   
  
Tony heard Peter’s lifeless body hit the floor before he turned to see, “Peter…”   
  
Peter was curled up on the floor, his lifeless eyes stared forward. Blood poured from underneath his head.  
  
Tony pressed his arm to his mouth as he retched, “Peter!”   
  
Jack turned back, wide-eyed, “What?” Tony stumbled over to where Peter lay. “No.” Tony looked over his shoulder as Jack unzipped his jacket to reveal the bomb underneath.  
  
“He’s got a bomb..” Tony muttered like a mantra, “He’s got a bomb, he’s got a bomb.”  
  
Jack flipped the switch.

* * *

Tony jumped awake. He was safe, in the back of his car, with Happy and Peter, “Woah, Mr. Stark.” Peter held out his hand grabbing his shoulder, “You okay? You fell asleep. You know, like an old man.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess I did.” He rubbed his temple, “Wow, I’m overdoing it.” He tapped the back of Happy’s chair, “Pull over here, Hap. We can walk.”  
  
“Okay, Boss.” Happy pulled over.  
  
Peter opened the door, and bounced out, “Thanks, Happy! See you later.”  
  
“See you, kid.”  
  
Tony jumped out, he stopped Peter by placing a hand on his shoulder. He quickly unzipped Peter’s backpack and took out May’s cheque. Peter turned around, with a raised eyebrow, “I’ll take this to the bank. You go and save us a table at McDonald's.”  
  
“...Alright.” Peter turned and hurried away.   
  
Tony headed over towards the bank, a man reached out, grabbing his arm, “Stark.”  
  
“It’s you.” _Why did he say that?_ He’d never met this man before, or had he?  
  
The man’s jaw dropped, “You know me?”  
  
“I…” Tony trailed off, “...Think so. Don’t know why though.”  
  
“I’m David.” He introduced as he released Tony’s arm “We do know each other, we’ve spoken every day, for the past four-hundred-and-thirty-six days.” He explained, “This day. _Today._ It’s never tomorrow. It’s always today.” He pointed over to the bank, “You and Peter go into the bank every time, and you both die. My best friend, Jack, he kills you. Every time. No matter what I say. Sometimes you listen, but you go in anyway. Play _hero_. Other times, you’ve told me to beat it.”  
  
Tony’s forehead creased, “How can I trust you? You could be making this all up.”  
  
“But you know me.” David told him, “It’s getting inside your head like it’s in mine.”  
  
“I need proof.”  
  
“Your son.” David sighed, “Did he bring his suit with him? It’s in his backpack, right?”  
  
Tony stepped back in horror, “What?”  
  
“It’s taken me so long to figure it out.” He admitted, “Why would you adopt some random kid from Queens? I worked it out, he’s Spider-Man. You met because you’re both heroes.”  
  
Tony’s blood boiled, “If you ever lay…” He couldn’t tell if this man was truly trying to help him, or if he was threatening Peter. He knew who Peter was, that made him dangerous, _right?_  
  
“I won’t.” David interrupted, “I just want this to be over.” He pointed to a car parked on the sidewalk, “I’m going to get in my car, if you want to know more, just ask.”   
  
Tony watched him walk away. Curiosity twisted its spindly fingers around his wrist, and pulled him away, into the bank. He hovered in the doorway taking in the scene. He noticed a man, hunched over the desk, scribbling down on a piece of paper. Tony didn’t know why he knew but that was Jack.   
  
“He’s got a bomb, he’s got a bomb, he’s got a bomb...” Tony muttered.   
  
Faint outlines of memories Tony shouldn’t have crossed his mind, and he hurried back outside, scrambling for his phone.   
  
“ _Tony? What’s up?_ ” Peter answered with his usual exuberance.  
  
“Listen to me, kid.” Tony said, urgently, “This isn’t gonna make any sense but I need you to put your suit on."  
  
“ _What, why?”_  
  
“Just listen, please. Put the suit on. On the road Happy dropped us off on, there’s an old car...a Volvo, I think. It’s rusty, looks like it’s falling apart. There’s a guy in there, grab him, and bring him to the bank with you.”  
  
_“I don’t…”_ Peter blurted _, “...understand.”_  
  
“Just do it, okay?” Tony pleaded, “He’ll know what it’s about.”  
  
“ _Okay, I’ll be there as quick as I can._ ” He heard Peter hurrying around, “ _Love you._ ”  
  
“Love you too.” Tony hung up and skipped back into the bank.   
  
He cautiously walked over to where Jack was stood, he placed his hand on the desk, and Jack flinched, looking up at him with piercing eyes, “Jack, right? You know who I am, and I know who you are.” He started, “I don’t want anyone in here to get hurt.” He gestured to the door, “If you walk out of that door, right now, I won’t come after you. You have my _word_. Change your mind, you’re better than this.”  
  
“I am this.”  
  
Tony shook his head, “You don’t have to be.”  
  
“There is no other way.” Jack turned, holding up his gun, “Everybody down! Now! You know what this is!”  
  
Everyone screamed, and threw themselves to the ground, doing what he said.  
  
Tony heard the door creak open. Peter rushed in, hidden behind the Spider-Man costume, with David by his side.  
  
“Jack!” Tony called, “Ask him!” He gestured to David, “What does he think?”  
  
“David.” Jack breathed, shocked, “Get out of here, now!”  
  
“You’re hurting him, you know?” Tony barked, “Everything you’re doing. He’s lived this day, over and over again. We all have. Hundreds of times, and we all die. If you loved him...you wouldn’t keep doing this.”  
  
“Shut up.” Jack spat, “Stop...talking…”  
  
Peter shot out a web, and it attached to Jack's wrist, he tugged on him. Jack was quick, unzipping his parker to reveal the bomb.  
  
Tony held out a cautious hand, “Spider-Man, stand down.”  
  
Jack pulled on the web, dragging Peter closer, “What are you gonna do now, Spidey?” He asked, “We don’t need people like you anymore! This city needs people like _me_! Who fights for the people we love.”  
  
“You don’t love me, Jack…” David sighed, tears swimming in his eyes, “If you do this. You say we’re like brothers but Stark’s right...You’ve made him watch his kid die hundreds of times!” Peter turned, Tony couldn’t see his face past the mask, but he could imagine the horror in his eyes, “This isn’t you.”   
  
“I’m doing this for you!”  
  
David shook his head, “I don’t want you to.”   
  
“Tough…” Jack turned his gun in Tony’s direction and pulled the trigger. David leapt in front, the bullet hit his chest and he fell to the ground, boneless.  
  
Tony hurried to his side, as Jack fell to his knees, dropping his gun. Peter webbed his hands behind his back, as Tony rolled David over, “Hey.”  
  
“This never happened before.” David choked out, his eyes rolled back, and his body stilled.  
  
Tony looked up at Peter, with teary-eyes, because he remembered.  
  
He knew he shouldn’t but he did. _Every day, every hour, every second_. He watched his kid die over four hundred times and that's enough to drive anyone insane.

* * *

Tony found Peter, out of his suit, sat on a wall, a few streets down from where everything happened. “Hey, kid.” He tugged on his shoulders dragging him into a hug. He rubbed circles against his back, “How are you doing?”  
  
“Okay.” Peter squeaked, Tony leaned back to look him in the eye, “You?”  
  
“I’m okay too.” He hopped up onto the wall, Peter leaned against his side, holding his arm.  
  
“So, we were in a time loop?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Peter brushed away tears with the back of his hand, “And you figured it out?”  
  
“I think we all did….” Tony sighed, “In a way.”  
  
“Yeah, something felt off.” Peter agreed, “How long were we in it?”  
  
“About a year and a half.”  
  
“Wow.” Peter sighed, in disbelief, “How did he do it? David...How did he turn back time?”  
  
“He was inhuman.” Tony dipped his chin to his chest, “He just didn’t know it. The loop broke when he died.”   
  
“It’s not your fault, you know?” Peter squeezed his arm as he tucked his head against his collarbone.  
  
“I know,” Tony sniffled, “You... _died_.”  
  
“Not really.” Peter reassured him, “I’m still here, aren’t I?”  
  
“Yeah.” Tony pressed a kiss against Peter's hair, “Let’s keep it that way, hey?”


End file.
